Member of the Advisory Board, Cambridge Judge Business School
Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire
Professional history
Julie initially trained as a teacher but, after realising that teaching was not for her, joined Avon and Somerset Police in 1978 and was posted to South Bristol. After postings to CID, community policing, the force communications centre, the Family and Child Protection Unit, the Press Office and uniform operations, Julie was seconded to the Association of Chief Police Officers secretariat in London for two years.
In 1999, she was appointed to Assistant Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police, where she held the Corporate Development and Territorial Policing portfolios. In April 2004, she was appointed to Deputy Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary and was responsible for Operational Policing for the County. In 2005, Julie was appointed Acting Chief Constable and subsequently appointed to Chief Constable in 2005.
In the Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours, Julie was awarded an OBE for her management of complex and contentious organisational issues, leadership of Thames Valley’s contribution to the operations to protect Heathrow and the Queen Mother’s funeral, her work for the ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee on Royalty and VIP Protection, and her strong leadership and determination in taking forward the Gender Agenda and the development of the British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP), which have both become major drivers for gender equality in British policing. She was President of BAWP for 10 years (2000-2010).
In 2008, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Anglia Ruskin University. In the 2010 New Year’s Honours list, she received the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM).
In September 2010, after a 32-year career, Julie retired from policing.
In April 2017, Julie was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, The Queen’s representative in the county, a post that Julie will hold until 2030.
Society & charity work
- President of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation
- Chair of Wellbeing of Women (Cambridge Branch)
- Trustee of Ormiston Families
